Modern unmanned aircraft are useful in various military reconnaissance and surveillance activities. In many cases, such so-called “unmanned aerial vehicles” (UAVs) are preferred over manned aircraft for reasons of safety and cost, particularly when used in high risk combat missions.
UAVs are typically catapulted into flight by launch mechanisms for completion of variously defined missions. Upon completion of a mission, a UAV may be physically captured by means of a UAV retrieval system utilizing a vertical pole and rope line, which ensnares and/or snags the UAV at the end of a mission flight. Antennas attached to the UAV may be particularly vulnerable to damage during snagging of the UAV by a rope line during its capture and retrieval.
Any resultant capture damage to antennas may be minimized or alleviated by the use of frangible booms which hold the antenna apart and away from the physical body of the UAV; the booms are used to avoid signal interference and other issues. One particular issue with frangible booms, however, has involved expense of part replacement. As such, improved frangible booms are needed to reduce both part replacement time and cost.